Epiphany
by Digi12
Summary: Sequal to Ti Amo...sort of. Seto and Mokuba go to Italy and bring Jou with them. But during their stay, Seto realizes he can't run from his past...or from his father's memory. puppyshipping. OC's galore setoxjou jouxseto OCxOC
1. Italian Lesson

_December 20__th__, 1994_

_3:58 P.M._

_Antonio 'Takashi' as he was now called- actually, his friends preferred to call him Tony -walked to the record store where he worked on weekdays, his four-year-old son Seto in tow after a day at school. The call from the principle may not have made sense to Antonio, being unable to speak Japanese, but after a clear definition from his wife he was dragging the boy down to the place that his victim- or should I say his assailant since Seto made out worse than she did –would be and that was with her father at the record store. Despite the cold of the December month, not a clump of snow dared to be seen on the ground. It was cold but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. No snow for a while yet. The again, it RARELY snowed in the County in winter so one couldn't expect more than possibly a few flurries._

_"__**Acceso.**__" (Come on) Tony prodded, yanking his son along._

_"__**Perchè dovrei? Lo ha meritato!**__" __(Why should I? She deserved it!) Seto spat, trying to resist his fathers strong grip. Tony just looked back at his son with his cobalt blue eyes, chin-long and choppy chestnut brown mullet swinging as he did so. The European gave his impudent child a patented Armani-er, 'Takashi' glare. Seto's fighting fell limp to his fathers gaze, so similar to his own but older and wiser. If the two didn't have such an obvious year gap between them, they could have been twins instead of father and son.  
__"__**Non sia fiero! Non ha fatto niente ma il colloquio.**__" __(Don't be proud! She did nothing but talk.)_

_"__**Si.**__" Seto replied, rubbing his face near his bruised eyelid. The swollen purple-black battle scar sent a twinge through the boy. The black eye was new, and the freshness meant the pain was still there. __"__**Ha parlato di quanto sporco ero perché sono italiano.**__" (She talked about how dirty I was because I am Italian.)_

_"__**Le parole non sono degne di combattimento sopra.**__" __(Words are not worthy of fighting over) Tony said, walking up to the old building with a glowing neon sign that read __'Checkers Records'__ (Basically, if anyone's seen __'Empire Records'__, you know what this store looks like) "__**Buon o difettoso, sono soltanto parole.**__" (Good or bad, they are only words.)_

_"__**So.**__" (I know.) Seto sighed. He'd heard that many times during his four years of life so far, mostly because when he was around his father while he worked in the record store, Mr. Tungsten's son Steel would come in with a split knuckle and bruises from fighting. Antonio always tried to press his son in the direction away from that sort of thing._

_But of course, words were easily forgotten when Seto's pride was at stake. Especially family pride._

_And the Italian culture was practically centered on the family._

_"__**Se sapete, perchè lo fate?**__" __(If you know, why did you do it?) Antonio asked, pushing the door open with his free arm, covered in colorful tattoos, just like the other one._

_Seto didn't respond to that._

_"__**Acceso.**__" His father prodded, more gentle this time.  
"Tony!" A man waved from behind the counter, big and muscular. His short black hair and steel grey eyes accented his rough face (Not unhandsome. Just rough looking). Tony nodded with a small smile and continued on, leading his son to the back room._

_"What's going on, kid?" Mr. Tungsten asked. Seto sighed, looking to the muscled man.  
"I got in a fight with Maya and now I'm in trouble even though she had it coming." The older of the two looked at his son, eyebrows furrowed as he frowned, detecting his sons bitter tone when he said Maya's name. He might not have understood it, but he knew the feel of it._

_"__**Dovreste mostrare il rispetto, lei siete una signora.**__" __(You should show respect, she's a lady.) __Antonio said  
"__**Una signora?!**__" (A lady?!) Seto asked with disgust._

_"__**Non sei fiero!**__" __His father scolded again, tugging him into the back room. There was a black man, bald and lean, looking in his mid-30's. And on the couch they had in the back was a young girl, his daughter. Her chocolate skin was bruised on her unsleeved arms (She wore a cap sleeve shirt) and her lip was split. (So was Seto's lip but Maya'd gotten a 'lucky shot' and knocked a tooth loose. His father told him not to touch it.) She also had a bruise on her face where the boy had punched her (Seto had two along with his black eye, one on his cheek and one on his forehead. That one hurt.) and her dark brown eyes glared daggers at Seto who glared them right back._

_"__**Signorina.**__" Antonio said, bowing respectfully to the seven-year-old. Okay, he didn't speak the language, but he knew the customs so that was just as good, right?_

_Seto did nothing but continue to glare. Tony looked at his son.  
"Seto." He prodded. Still nothing. "Seto Antonio." He repeated, adding the middle name to get the boys attention. Seto sighed indignantly and bowed as his father did._

_"__**Chieda scusa a Maya.**__" (Apologize to Maya.) His father told him._

_"__**Non merita lle scuse!**__" (She doesn't deserve an apology!) Seto countered to his father, visibly upset that he had to do this.  
"__**Chieda. Scusa. A Maya.**__" Tony repeated. Seto sighed, scrunching his nose in disgust but saying anyway.  
"I'm...sorry Maya." He said quietly, but loud enough to be heard. Antonio looked to the bald man, Mitchell Martin- Maya's father -as if asking if he said it. Mitch nodded and Tony smiled.  
"__**Bene.**__"_

_"Stupid boy." Maya scoffed at the younger of the two look-alikes. Mitch glared at his daughter.  
"Dumb bitch." Seto murmured, making sure his father couldn't hear him. _

_---_

_"Seto." Antonio said softly, driving home later that day with his son. His son, whom kept his arms folded and a Walkman tightly clenched in one hand, glared out the window blaring The Buggles in his ears.  
"Seto?" Tony asked again, looking at his son and sighing as he now saw the headphones. He reached a hand over and took one off an ear and said  
"Seto!" Not a shout but louder than normal. Seto turned to his father, looking at him angrily before snatching the headphone back.  
"__**Concentrato sulla strada.**__" (Concentrate on the road) He said, turning around and listening to his music again. Antonio, frustrated, ripped the headphones off Seto's head (Who replied with a grumpy "HEY!") and put them aside.  
__"__**Non comunichi con me quel senso. Sono il vostro padre.**__" __(Don't talk to me that way. I'm your father) His father scolded. Seto sighed, continuing to look out the window._

_"__**...Sapete perchè li ho incitati a chiedere scusa?**__" (Do you know why I made you apologize?)Tony asked, looking at his son through the corner of his eye. Seto just shrugged, not really caring.  
"__**Due motivi.**__" (Two reasons.) __He said, making a turn at the corner. "__**Il primo è perché avete iniziato la lotta.**__" __(The first is because you started the fight) He said. Seto looked at his dad, swinging his feet that didn't touch the floor of the car, somewhat seeing what his father was getting at. __"__**Il secondo è perché è una ragazza.**__" (The second is because she's a girl.)  
__"__**Così?**__" (So?) The child asked. Tony pulled into their driveway and killed the engine, stopping the car completely.  
__"__**Che cosa se qualcuno colpisse la vostra madre?**__" (What if someone hit your mother?) __The Italian asked, looking at Seto. The boy looked slightly cross at the thought. _

_"__**Maya sarà una madre un giorno, Seto... e sapranno e saranno**_

_**arrabbiato altrettanto come siete...**__" (Maya will be a mother someday, Seto...and they will know and they will be just as angry as you are.) Seto lowered his eyes, feeling rather guilty. Antonio gave a small smile._

_"__**Non desidero sentire parlare di voi il combattimento più, particolarmente non una donna. **__**Siete più astuti di quello.**__" (I don't want to hear about you fighting anymore, especially not a woman. You're smarter than that.)  
"__**So.**__" Tony smiled, ruffling his sons hair._

_"__**Buoni... siete affamati?**__" (Good...are you hungry?) __Seto looked to his father, face bright again._

_"__**Come un lupo!**__" (Like a wolf...it's an Italian saying 'Hungry like a wolf'...it's the equivalent of 'I could eat a horse' that Americans use.) __The boy agreed. Tony laughed. _

_"__**Pozzo allora perchè siamo alambicco nell'automobile? **__**Mangiamo!**__" (Well then why are we still in the car? Let's eat!)_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

_December 20__th__, 2008_

_3:58 P.M._

"_Mangiare._"

The blonde thought, eyes darting around the empty classroom as if the answer would be written on the ceiling or a blue bird regurgitating worms to feed it's young in the seasonal snow. How Seto had managed to keep the classroom empty for an hour after school (When usually there would be clubs and such), Jou had no idea.

"Um...Oh! _'To eat_', right?"

"Good."  
A grin.  
"Now conjugate it."

A brown eye twitched.  
"Err..."  
"Jouuuuu!" Seto groaned (But if you asked Jou, he'd have said 'whined' was more like it). "We've been OVER this! _Mangiare_. '_A-R-E_' Verb."  
"I got it! I got it!" The blonde said, returning to the notebook Seto had gotten him. Jou was determined to get a hand on the whole Italian thing whether he liked it or not. Ever since that _'Ti-Amo_-I-Love-You' incident, Jou had noticed the things Seto was saying.

Not that Seto was saying it MORE. It was that now Jou knew it wasn't incoherent grumblings of an overworked teenage CEO and instead realized from the way they flowed, even IF they weren't for children's ears, they actually MEANT something.

"Um..."  
"_O, i, a, iamo, ate, anno_." Seto supplied, watching as Jou scribbled them down.  
"Right, now I just take off the '_A-R-E_' right?"  
"Yep." Jou grinned again as he wrote down the letters to work as Seto taught him. As he finished '_mangianno_', he looked to Seto.

"That good?" he asked, showing the CEO his work. The brunet nodded.

"_Bene_." He said, assuring. Jou smiled again, happy to remember the word Seto had said. Good. '_Bene_' meant '_Good_'.

That was ANOTHER reason he liked it. The way Seto said it...well, you'd look at him in his big office chair, and typing away at his computer, face blank of everything except what his brain was processing, cup of coffee absently waiting beside him should he need an extra zing to keep going, you'd never think the guy could say things so beautiful. Even if the MEANINGS weren't so beautiful, Seto's smooth strong voce had a lovely ring when he spoke in the Roman-based language. He'd always keep that cold-ish, loner exterior but when he spoke like that...the words sort of softened him. Made him sound so sensual, even if the words weren't so, as said before.

He remembered one situation where Seto had asked Jou to be a distraction at some fancy dinner party he had to go to. Didn't WANT to go but HAD to and had asked Jou so he would keep from bashing the hosts' balls into his skull. Jou had agreed and had been bored to death, to the point of nearly passing out. (This also being from lack of sleep.) At some point, he actually had and the brunet had woken him up, little brother behind him, -they were leaving if Jou was so tired, he'd said- to which the host walked by and made some derisive comment about Jou being a dog, sleeping on the floor against the wall like that. Seto had just smirked and replied:  
"_Il mio puppy è migliore dei cani ordinari. Fa le cose più piacevoli _

_che__ si siede in su ed elemosina...e fa quello anche._"  
Jou nearly melted.

Never mind he'd heard the word 'puppy' somewhere in there. Never mind he didn't have a comeback to the hosts' confused face. Never mind that Seto was guiding his dazed self out of the home while Mokuba laughed his tiny ass off.

Not only did it sound beautiful, but HE sounded beautiful. It was elegant and smooth and sultry and that made HIM elegant and smooth and sultry and just made his handsome features- his eyes, the curve of his lips, perfectly chiseled jaw, soft hair right above his eyes -stand out all the more. And he wasn't even TRYING. Fuck, they'd snogged all the way home that night...

But NOT the night after in which Jou asked Mokuba what Seto had said to which the raven hair boy started laughing again. Eventually he got his answer from the younger of the brothers Kaiba:  
_"My puppy is better than ordinary dogs. He does more pleasing things than sit up and beg...and he does that too."_

Jou slept on the couch (Out of his own free will, just to tick of his lover). Kaiba, thusly, couldn't sleep.

It was weird how close those two had gotten since the whole _'Ti_-_Amo'_ incident. At first the relationship had seemed like any other. But then it sort of...twisted into something...stronger. Not that Jou MINDED. In fact, just last night-

"Jou!" Kaiba called again, snapping in front of Jou's face. "Are you okay?"  
"Uh-Y-yeah, I'm fine...just thinking." Jou replied. Seto blinked.

"It's not that hard. _Fare_." Seto said, thinking the blonde was thinking of the word.

"Augh! That's IRREGULAR!" Jou whined. He didn't like irregular verbs. They didn't follow the pattern like the others did, they had entirely different spellings when being conjugated.

"You need to know it. _Fare_." Seto repeated for the blonde. Darn it...Fare...Fare...

"I'm thinking...'_to be_' or '_to do_'.."  
"Pick one."  
"Can't you tell me?"  
"No."

"Um...'_To be_'?" Jou guessed. Seto shook his head.  
"'Nope. That's _'Essere'_. _'Fare'_ is '_To do'_." Jou blinked, not sure what to do or say in reply.

Before he could try to wonder what to say/do, Seto's cell phone went off.  
"_Accidenti._" He whispered, taking the cell from his pocket. He looked at the number and softly kissed Jou's blonde hair. "Sorry, puppy. I gotta take this."  
"Okay. And don't call me puppy." Jou nagged. Seto disregarded it and walked out of the classroom, only to pop his head back in and point at Jou.

"Conjugate it before I get back."

"Awww!" Jou whined as the door shut and he stared at the paper he was writing on. How did he conjugate this one again?

He hated irregular verbs...

---

Seto flipped open the phone and pressed the device to his face.  
"What is it?"  
"Nice." Mokuba scoffed. "Your secretary called. Someone needs a meeting with you tonight."  
"No! Not tonight! You know about tonight! I can't do tonight!" Seto insisted, keeping his voice hushed.

"Can he hear you?" Mokuba asked, keeping his voice low too.

"No, not WELL anyway. But you know Jou." Seto turned and took a peek into the classroom.  
Okay, Jou was still working.

"_Dovrei dire loro di denominarli domani?_" (Do you want me to tell them to call tomorrow?) Mokuba asked quietly.

"_Sì, per favore._" (Yes please.) Seto said, turning back around and continuing to converse with his brother. "_Il mio pacchetto è arrivato ancora?_" (Did my package arrive yet?)

"_No, hanno denominato anche. Sta andando essere fatto ritardare._

_Spiacente._" (No, they called too. It's going to be late. Sorry. –Rough translation-)

"_Accidenti..._" Seto murmured. He hoped Jou would be working for a while.  
(This next part won't be translated because Jou doesn't understand it.)

---

"_Quanto tempo è fa ritardare?_"  
He had no idea what Kaiba just said but DAMN he sounded hot saying it.

Jou, pressed against the door, having given up on the conjugation and just did it like with regular verbs. (Sure, he knew it wasn't right but Kaiba would correct him...with his pretty Italian voice..). He absently wondered what he was talking about (He recognized _quando_..._ritardare_ was to be late... was something late?) but immediately forgot when he heard

"_Sarò indietro presto... noi sono quasi... Jou comunque fatto sto_

_facendo bene_"

He loved when that guy rolled his 'R's. If anything it added to his sexy nature.

"_Li vedrò presto... arrivederci. E non lasci Jou nella mia stanza fino a stasera._" The CEO finished his conversation, opening the door, causing Jou to tumble back onto his butt. Seto blinked.

"Eavesdropping, Katsuya?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Jou blushed a bit, both at being caught red-handed and at hearing his first name being used.

"I was gunna ask about the verb and...I like hearing you talk Italian." Seto rolled his eyes, lifting Jou by an arm. "I do." Jou said. "It sounds pretty." At that, the CEO raised an eyebrow.  
"Pretty?"  
"Well you sound...really nice when you talk it." Seto smirked. "Sexy too." The smirk grew and he shrugged.

"_Sono_ _naturalmente_ _sexy,_ _puppy._" He said, watching Jou blush a bit.

"Don't call me puppy!" Jou demanded again. "...And what did you say?" The CEO chuckled, ruffling Jou's hair and leaning close to his ear.  
"I said 'I'm just naturally sexy'." He whispered, still smirking.

_'Ain't __**that**__ the truth.'_

The blond thought, trying to shake away the buzz the CEO put over his brain.

"I'd speak it more but you'd never understand me." Seto said, kissing the rim of Jou's ear.  
"I'd get it eventually."  
"Like now?" Seto said, looking at the conjugations. "Fo, fi, fiamo? I didn't know someone could butcher it this bad."

"Hey, I'm still learning." Jou pouted, Seto rolling his eyes and kissing his temple.

"My father is rolling in his grave."  
"Let him roll. You need to help me." Katsuya said, prodding him with the book.

"Leave me alone. I'm in a mood." Seto said softly, kissing the blondes forehead.

"I see that." Jou said with a smile. "But seriously, help me, I'm lost."

"_Siete__bei..._" Seto whispered, running a hand through the blondes golden hair as he kissed the corner of a brown eye. Jou shivered at the attention he got, not really caring whatever Kaiba said at the moment. It just sounded so...

"Katsuya..." A sensual murmur, leaning the boy against the desk. The CEO gently made his way down the side of the blondes' face to his neck, sucking away to his hearts content. "_Ti amo._" Jou moaned softly, tilting his head back for his lover who ravished him so caringly. Another breathy whisper of his first name sent chills up the boys' spine as he was laid down on the desk this time-

"Mr. Kaiba! Mr. Jounochi!" The teacher exclaimed, having just returned and now stood in the open doorway gaping. Jou's eyes widened at the teacher's surprised face. "What is going on here? I leave you two alone for-" The CEO tossed several bills the teachers way. The educators' eyes bulged as she reached for the wad of cash, in shock of how much money she held.

She could retire early.

"Um...nevermind..." She said, quickly leaving the classroom and closing the door.

"Seto-" Jou started, finally being allowed freedom as Seto broke for air. But the CEO went right back to snogging the ass off his lover who immediately forgot what he was about to say.

------------------------------

Okay...that was the first chapter of Epiphany...hope you liked it.


	2. The Tadanaka Estate

_January 11__th__, 1995_

_12:00 Midnight_

_A thin lanky eleven-year-old boy rounded the street corner and hid behind a tree. His silvery hair shone in the moonlight but the black tipped ends faded with the night. Steely dark eyes scanned the area, lingering on one of the houses for a second, as he turned and beckoned his companions with a hand. Another boy about his age followed, bringing Maya with him. He had the same skin tone as her, dark chocolate smooth with brown hair and eyes. Seto followed the three of them._

_"Are you sure about this, Steel?" Seto asked nervously. The white haired boy, Steel Tungsten, turned to him and rolled his eyes._

_"We'll be FINE! We're not gunna get caught. No one lives there anymore. And my mom and dad are asleep and so are Collin and Maya's. Plus, you left the house and your old man was still at the hospital with your mom right?" he asked.  
"Well, yeah, but he could come home. She's only staying the night."  
"You didn't HAVE to come you know." Maya scoffed. The other boy, her brother Collin Martin, grimaced at his little sister._

_"Maya, quiet."_

_"I'm just saying."_

_"Look out!" Seto whispered harshly, hiding behind the tree. The three followed suit as a car passed them by._

_"Aw, it was just Mr. Suoma!" Steel chided the youngest of the four before leaving the tree towards the sidewalk across the street. "Come on!" He called under his breath, darting across the road. Maya and Collin followed as Seto stared at them.  
"W-Wait, we're really...Hey! Wait for me!" He cried as he followed, trying to gain speed. The three all stopped by another tree in front of a rickety old house with three levels. Seto skidded to a halt behind them and peered from behind Collin's back, whom he'd almost crashed into._

_"Man...that's big." Collin said quietly._

_"Well, it's an old house. All old houses are big." Steel said matter-of-factly but Seto could hear a tiny sliver of awe in his voice too._

_"So...who goes first?" Maya asked._

_Silence..._

_"Uh...y-you know, just in case the rumors are true...I might as well stay back." Collin said. "A-And protect my sister."  
"I don't need protecting!" Maya said defensively. Her brown eyes shifted to the oldest of them. "Well, what about you, Steel?" She then asked. Steel turned to Maya and shrugged.  
"Well...You guys know how clumsy I am...I-if I end up making the house collapse, my daddy'll know it was me." Steel defended._

_Seto didn't buy it._

_"Well then...Seto goes." Maya decided. "Go on, geek bait." Seto's eyebrows rose.  
"What? Why me?"_

_"Because you're stealthier than Steel. Plus YOU don't have a baby sibling to 'protect'." Tony's son crinkled his nose.  
"I will soon! What do you think my Mom's in the hospital for?"_

_"Just shut up and go!" Maya demanded in a harsh hushed voice._

_"Why should I? Why don't YOU if you want to know if the curse is true so badly? YOU'RE the one who dragged me out here." Seto said. Maya scoffed and looked at him in disgust.  
"Stupid! You don't send the girl out into a haunted house when she doesn't want to!"  
"Well why not?"  
"Because she doesn't want to! It's impolite!" She said, her face a blunt 'Duh, bucket-head' expression._

_"My dad's polite." The Italian boy defended. "And he never told me that before." Maya glared.  
"Well, maybe he's not as polite as you think he is." Tony's son folded his arms.  
"I'm not going."  
"Chicken." Maya scoffed. Seto's face turned a bright red._

_"I-I am not!" He protested.  
"Yeah you are!" Maya sneered.  
"I am NOT!" Seto declared, not whispering anymore. Maya simpered again and tucked her fists under her arms and flapped her elbows._

_"Buk buk, buh-KAWK! Chicken!"  
"AM NOT!"_

_Added chicken-like walking for emphasis.  
"Buk, buk-KAWK! BAWK! Buk, buk, buk, buk, BUUUK!"_

_"FINE!" The boy yelled, storming towards the porch. Collin cringed and made a small squealing sound, shaking like a leaf._

_"Takashi!" Steel whispered, using the boys' last name. "No!" Seto didn't listen and quickly made his way up the steps, grunting a bit as his foot broke into the mold-covered and chipping wood of the first step. He quickly pulled it up and made his way to the front door. The old rusted brass knocker hung dismally on the middle of the door as the dark house loomed over the four-year-old. Blue eyes went from the knocker to the doorknob as Seto swallowed the lump in his throat._

_The lump was his fear; not his pride. Seto would never sink so low._

_The boy reached up and gripped the old doorknob, yelping a bit as it fell off and rolled across the wood patio. It moved off the edge and into the hole that the boys' sneaker made a few seconds ago. _

_Seto paled, his heart taking a plunge into his stomach. He turned around again and placed his hand over the hole the missing doorknob made. _

_Collin squeaked._

_Maya watched, trying to keep her breathing steady._

_Steel's eyes were wide with apprehension._

_Tony's son took a deep breath as he pushed open the door..._

_He stopped breathing and his heart skipped a beat as a bright light from behind cast his shadow on the front of the house.  
"What are you kids DOING?" A voice called. Several gasps and another squeak (From Collin) alerted the boy to safety as he turned and saw a familiar man in his old Camry with another man in a scarlet Buick behind him._

_"Daddy..." Maya said quietly, looking ashamed. Steel paled too, seeing his father come from the red car.  
"Maya, get in the car." Mitchell demanded. "Collin you too. Both of you in the back seat." The siblings muttered their apologies to their father as Manganese stepped away from his own vehicle and moved to his son, grabbing his shoulder._

_"I nearly had a conniption over you tonight." He said worriedly and angrily at the same time. "You mother nearly had a heart attack too. I thought you'd been kidnapped or you'd snuck out to that kid Masons house again, you KNOW I don't trust that rotten little punk, his daddy's got a gun and liquor in the house, that man is NEVER home with that brat..." he rambled on and Steel just bit his lip.  
"Sorry sir." Steel said quietly as his father finished, head bowed as he followed his fathers grip.  
"Apologize to your mother when you see her." Mr. Martin scolded to his children (he'd divorced Mrs. Martin a year ago after their fourth child was a year old). His brown eyes soon found Tony's boy and he called_

_"Seto Antonio Takashi!" Seto hurried over, wanting to make his yellings quick and (relatively) painless. As he took his last step and looked up to Maya's father he began to talk._

_"I know, Mr. Martin, I'm not allowed anywhere CLOSE to the Tadanaka house and I'm sorry I did it and I know you and my dad and Mr. Tungsten tell us all the time not to go near here, but I'm begging you, PLEASE don't tell my-"_

_The Camry's front passenger door opened. Seto lost the color in his face as his father stepped out of the front seat and stood, showing his true 6''2 height._

_He looked none too happy._

_"Dad..." he trailed off, misery, guilt, and fear washing through him._

_"__**Ottenga nell'automobile.**__" (Get in the car.)_

_Seto made no haste in climbing into the backseat next to Collin, his fathers' disappointed and angered gaze following him all the way. He buckled himself in and shut the door, waiting quietly for the fathers to drive them home._

_"Your daddy looks really mad." Collin said._

_"No more or less than yours." Seto replied, looking out the window. They immediately quieted as the two got in the car, Mr. Martin at the wheel. Tony turned and looked at Seto._

_The Armani glare. (Or in his case at the time, Takashi)  
"_ _**Voi. **__**Sono collegati. Fino a che non moriate.**__" __Seto swallowed again as Mitch started the engine._

_"What did he say?" Collin asked quietly._

_"He said 'You. Are grounded. Until you die.'" Seto explained._

_"Well you touched the house, right?" Maya asked.  
"Yeah."  
"And your fingers went through the doorknob hole right?"  
"Mm-hm."_

_"Well then you've technically been INSIDE it too now." The girl explained. "You won't have to worry about being grounded if the Tadanaka curse kills you f-"  
"__**SILENCIO!**__" (Silence!) His father demanded, glaring at all three of the children. _

_Not a sound was made, not even when he turned back around. The Italian boy was nervous now. His father had NEVER gotten this mad before. He must have really done it this time._

_Not that his father ever HIT him or anything. Tony didn't believe in corporal punishment. But at the same time the punishments he dealt out (which he rarely did since his wife wore the pants in the house) were torturous. Like no more movies or video games for a week, two if he was extra bad. And Seto, being the delightful little obsessive-compulsive child that he was, couldn't go a DAY without begging his father for forgiveness while being punished._

_But at the same time, what self-loving-and-respecting four-year-old boy __**wouldn't**__ fear the curse of a house that was built when your GREAT-Grandfathers-older-brother was born and had been abandoned since the last owners (who were around when your grandpa was a teenager) died? Especially when that curse was said to melt your eyes from the inside out, turn them black, wrinkle your skin and make you a vegetable for some ghost to possess? (Or so said Maya.) And of course, being the FREAK that he was, he HAD to go with them, he HAD to know. He was inquisitive like that._

_The boy saw Antonio's angry gaze reflected in the car windshield._

_Seto didn't know which was scarier:_

_The Tadanaka curse or his angered father._

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

_December 20__th__, 2008_

_12:00 Midnight_

"But I'll tell you now," Seto said, a finger pointed at Jou as he sat up a little more against the headboard of the bed. "That wasn't the last time I went into the Tadanaka house...and it wasn't the last time I got caught either." Seto said to his lover. Jou laughed.

"Idiot."  
"Yes, I was." Seto agreed, stretching his bare arms over his head. He was getting tired. But then again, who wouldn't be after five rounds of sex? "But, I was also four. I believed in that sort of thing."

"Yami and Yuugi." Jou said bluntly.

"Well, I KNOW that...I meant the hex thing from people dying spontaneously. That's different. Those two are a different case." Jou nodded a bit, seeing where Seto was going with that. After all, Seto Kaiba wouldn't dare say a word about him believing in magic but it didn't mean he didn't.

"Maya got me believing all sorts of things...like when I was three and just learning to talk, she told me I'd fly away unless I put sand in my underwear." Jou laughed again.  
"D-Didja do it?" Seto smiled a TEENSY bit and shook his head.

"I wasn't THAT gullible. I asked my father first who told Mr. Martin who punished Maya...which is probably why we started against each other in the first place." Seto shook his head to keep his hair out of his eyes. "She ALWAYS knew how to push my buttons...kind of like you." Jou grinned.

"Well, I'm better at it, I'll bet."  
"That you are..." Seto smirked, leaning over and kissing the blonde. "Speaking of you, I have something to ask."  
"Ask away." Jou smiled, cuddling against his lover.

"Epiphany." Seto said. Jou raised an eyebrow.  
"What, you had one?"  
"No, not that kind of epiphany. Little Christmas. Holiday in the old country...Italy." Seto said.  
"And?" Jou asked.   
"Well...Jou, the reason I was adopted because...my family..." Seto bit his lip. "They couldn't afford to keep us." Jou stared for a mere second before turning his head down.

"...Oh."

"I still see them though. I write when I can during the times I'm unable to go see them." He said. "I try to go whenever I can. I may have a company to run but it doesn't mean I should forget the people who raised me." Seto looked at Jou. "I know this sounds strange but...I was wondering if you could come with me." Jou blinked.

"To..."  
"Yep."  
"But I barely speak Italian!"  
"I can translate for you. Besides you know enough English to have a conversation. And my family needed to know English too. Plus my _Nonno_ speaks Japanese well and so does my Aunt Camilla...and..." Seto thought for a few minutes. "I...THINK my cousin Isabella does too but I can't quite remember...I haven't seen her in a while...I only ever spoke to her in Italian...Everyone else speaks Italian and English..."  
"..." Jou thought for a bit, wondering to himself about this.

"You'll end up missing New Years Eve." Seto warned. "That's the day Mokuba and I leave so you'd have to make the choice. We usually only stay for about a week. Because of the length of the plane ride, we'll be back on the eighth but we leave during the night of January seventh..." Jou considered this. "Please?' Seto prodded. Now THERE was a rarity if one ever saw one.

"Alright." Jou sighed. Seto smiled, cuddling Jou close and kissing his temple softly.

"You won't regret it...well, okay, you might but you live to love me another day." Seto said. After another kiss, he moved to his side of the bed and rested his head against a pillow.  
"What are YOU doing?"

"Going to sleep." Seto said.

"Oh, come on! I just agreed to go with you and you can't even thank me?" Seto blinked, Sitting up and looking at Jou with a raised eyebrow.

"You want me to thank you?"  
"I'd be nice." Jou smirked. Seto grinned again, pushing himself on top of the blonde and tugging him close as he could get. Hot lips crushed against a second pair, a gentle tongue prodding at the others. Jou welcomed the softness of his lover and the affections he was offered as he was held closer by the arms that wrapped around him. The brunet laid him back down against the softness of the bed, hands gently cupping and roaming the soft skin of his pup. The blonde whimpered, eyes opening to Seto as the kiss broke.

"One more time?" he asked. Seto smirked.

"Well...I guess it's not THAT late..."

---------------------------------

Chapter two done. It's 12:00 me tired, me going to bed...g'night...


	3. Welcome

_January 22__nd__ 1995_

_3:30 P.M._

_"__**I **__**don't know what to do with that boy.**__" Tony mumbled in refined English. Italian and English were close enough for him to learn easily. Thank God his Hitomi knew it...and Manganese...and Mitch...and Helen...actually, English was a language every one of his friends knew it seemed so he was pretty thankful for that. _

_Helen Martin-Johnson (who'd kept both names after divorcing Mitchell) looked over at Tony from the register as he re-stocked the CD's._

_"__**Well, it's as much Maya and Collin's fault as it is Seto's. Those kids are curious.**__"_

_"__**It's one thing to be curious.**__" Mitch said, reaching up to re-pin the corner of a poster of Axl Rose. "__**It's another thing to sneak out in the middle of the night and try to wander around in an old, unstable rickety house because of some made-up curse.**__"  
"__**Made-up?**__" Helen raised an eyebrow. "__**That curse has been tradition in this town since the Tadanaka's breathed their last breath. I know it, you know it, EVERYONE knows it.**__"  
"__**Not me.**__" Manganese said._

_"__**Me neither.**__" Tony quipped._

_"__**Because you're not originally from Kaitou County. Mangan, you're from Domino City." **__A finger went to the brunet.__** "And you're from a different country entirely. Hell, Tony, you're not even from this CONTINENT.**__" Helen reminded. The foreigner shrugged with a grin, similar to Manganese._

_"__**The ENTIRE reason they snuck out that night was because of those crazy rumors you spread.**__" Mitchell said, returning to the subject as he walked over to the window and adjusted a neon light in the window that flashed 'Records' during the night.  
"__**I didn't SPREAD it. It's been around since we were kids." **__Helen defended.__** "I said it as a joke a week ago. They just won't let it be.**__"(And those words brought on a round of 'Let It Be' by The Beatles to play the refrain over and over in Antonio's rocking-and-rolling brain. It would have been rather annoying if he didn't love that band so much.)_

_"__**Well, I certainly hope they let it be once the baby's born. I don't want her or him getting in as much trouble as his or her brother.**__" Tony sighed, restocking the Ricky Martin CD's. God he hated this guy. Good thing he had the vocals of a Mr. John Lennon to drown him out. (Let it beeeeee...)_

_"__**It's fuck-tards like this that give pop music a bad name.**__"  
"__**Like who?**__" Helen asked as her eyebrows rose. Tony rarely swore. _

_Tony held up the CD._

_"__**I mean, I'm more of a rocker myself,**__" He started, placing the CD in front of the others.  
"__**We know that Tony.**__" Manganese chuckled. All they ever heard blaring from Tony's pick-up was Guns 'N Roses (That one was heard the most.), Throwing Muses (A favorite of the Missus, actually. Tony liked them but not as much as his wife), the Scorpions, Skid Row, Def Leppard, Velvet Revolver (Tony, being the utter rocking spirit he was, practically worshipped Slash) or some other 80's rock band, obscure or not. _

_Sometimes it wasn't even the '80's (Even though that was HIS era; everyone else just existed in it.) As said, he ADORED The Beatles, Ike Turner and his pretty little wife Tina, Elvis Presley, all rock in his book was good rock. And all rock was rock in his book._

_Tony grinned at his friend._

_"__**But that doesn't mean pop bands aren't good too. Gloria Estefan, Madonna, just examples.**__" He rattled off. Yes, he liked Madonna. Live with it. (But just to make it clear, 80'S MADONNA! And...ONLY her 'Music' album if you want to go into the 90's.)_

_Tony snarled at the album he held. "__**But this isn't music. This is...an ATTEMPT at music.**__"_

_"__**Hey. I liked him when he was in Menudo.**__" She defended, running a chocolate dark hand through her black hair._

_"__**And NOW?**__" The Italian asked. There was a notable rancor in his voice at the mention of the band.  
"__**Well, NOW he's not **__**as**__** good.**__"__She admitted.__**  
**__"__**Cop-out.**__" Mitch scoffed. Helen glared._

_"__**But I liked Menudo.**__"_

_"__**You would.**__" Her ex-husband snorted. From the back room's door a woman emerged, thin and frail looking with big blue eyes and short, stylish white hair. Her short dainty steps were quick and silent until she paused and looked at the Italian._

_"__**Hey, Tony, you might want to check out your kid.**__" She said, her voice soft just because...well, just because._

_"__**Seto's here?**__" Tony asked, looking up from the CD's. "__**What's wrong with him, Vana?**__"_

_"__**I dunno, man.**__" The woman, Vanadium Tungsten, said. "__**But he looks really scuffed up.**__" Tony groaned, another fight he assumed. He stood, placing the box of CD's down and walking towards the back.  
"__**I'll**__**be right back.**__" He said to his long-term friends with a quiet moan of "__**Accidenti**__...Seto..."_

_--_

_Seto sat with his arms folded and curled up, facing the cushioned part of the couch. He bit his bottom lip fiercely and blinked back the tears. _

_But they weren't sad tears. H__H__onest. It was just the wind that had been in his eyes while he was biking. It still sort of stung, he wasn't crying! And the bruise he had across his temple hurt (Lucky shot!). He wasn't upset! Really! _

_And even if he was it CERTAINLY wasn't because Hikaru Inoue called him out and got him in a fight even after his dad told him not to fight anymore. No sir, Hikaru couldn't get his goat like Maya did. If he WAS upset (Which he wasn't!) it wasn't because he got in a fight. It was because he got into a fight when his dad had TOLD HIM not to fight. And he'd UNDERSTOOD why._

_Seto'd been TRYING not to fight! He really was! Hikaru threw the first punch and he wasn't about to just stand there! And before then, he wasn't about to let that kid boss him around! The gall of that idiot! Even if he WAS easy to boss around SOMETIMES, he wouldn't do Hikaru Inoue's homework. Especially not after that punch to the face.  
"Seto?" A familiar voice sounded. "__**Siete giusti?**__" (Are you okay?) Seto didn't bother to look at his father. He knew what his father would say._

_There was a silence in the room as Tony moved to sit down on the couch. He put his hands on his knees and leaned on them, trying to get a glimpse of his sons' hidden face._

_"__**Non desiderate comunicare affatto?**__" (You don't want to talk at all?) He prodded some more. Seto still refused to budge._

_"__**Siete entrato in un'altra lotta, non?**__" (You got into another fight, didn't you?) Tony asked sadly. Seto twisted sideways, turning his bruised face to his father._

_"__**I-I non ha desiderato combatterlo! Realmente! Ho provato non a!**__" __(I-I didn't want to fight him! Really! I tried not to!) The younger defended himself, hoping is father would believe him._

_He didn't look as angry as when he fought Maya. Probably because Hikaru was a 'he' and not a 'she'._

_A soft hand ran across his son's face._

_"__**Chi è 'lui'?**__" (Who is 'he'?) He asked, examining the cut across the boys face. It caused Seto to wince. Yikes, that kid broke skin. He didn't even notice until his father touched it. It was probably Hikaru's ring that cut him._

_Well, at least he was right about it not being tears running down his cheek._

_"Hikaru Inoue." The mini-Tony told his father. Tony grumbled something under his breath but Seto didn't bother listening. __He just continued._

_"__**Hikaru ha detto che non è giusto che dovrebbero fare il loro proprio lavoro quando sono soltanto quattro e sono già nel primo grado.**__" __(Hikaru said that it's not fair that they should be doing their own work when I'm only four and I'm in the first grade already.) He defended himself, rubbing away a droplet of blood. Seto had, even at his own age, been deemed...INCREDIBLY talented. Tony knew this. He'd gotten it from his mother, most definitely. In all the ways he was Antonios' son, the boy had gained Hitomi's intellect._

_"__**Ha detto se fossi così astuto, io potrebbe aiutare tutto altrimenti fuori e fare il loro compiti. **__**Ma Io no detto. Così lo ha perforato.**__" (He said if I was so smart, I could help everyone else out and do their homework. But I said no. So he punched me.) The boys' father rolled his eyes, looking agitated at that. Seto turned his face down._

_"__**Sono spiacente.**__" (I'm sorry.) He apologized, feeling the guilt at betraying his father's words. Tony blinked at this, his face blank for a bit. He smiled softly at his son and hugged him tight, chuckling.  
"__**Papa?**__" (Dad?) He questioned, wondering why his father held him so. He was expecting another lecture. He was expecting like with Maya, to be dragged down to Hikaru Inoue's house and forced to apologize._

_"__**Heh, è circa tempo qualcuno detto a quel bambino guastato fuori.**__" __(Heh, it's about time someone told that brat off.)_

_"Papa..." Seto asked again. He was confused._

_"Oh, Seto," The boys father laughed a bit, ruffling his sons hair as he pulled out of the embrace. __"__**Come posso essere pazzo voi per quello? Avete ascoltato me il tempo pieno.**__" __(How can I be mad at you for that? You listened to me the whole time.) Seto stared at his father, utterly bewildered._

_"__**Ma...Ma ho ottenuto in una lotta! **__**Mi avete detto che non combattere-**__" (But...But I got in a fight! You told me not to fight-)_

_"__**Seto, gli dicessi DI NON INIZIARE le lotte. Non ho detto mai che non potreste difenderti.**__" __(Seto, I told you not to START fights. I never said you couldn't defend yourself.) The father said, running a hand through his soft brown mullet. He blinked, removing his hand and looking to his son._

_"__**Avete perforato quel maiale piccolo ignaro, non?**__" __(You did punch that ignorant little swine, didn't you?) He asked, eyeing his son's multiple bruises. Seto scoffed._

_"Duh." He dripped, turning his head sharply. His down-to-the-bottoms-of-his-ears locks flipped with him. He was trying to grow_ _them long like his dad. "__**Non sono stupido!**__" (I'm not stupid!)_

_"__**Buon.**__" (Good.) The Italian male ruffled his sons hair, laughing lightly._

_"__**Seto, sono fiero di voi.**__" __(Seto, I'm proud of you.) Tony smiled, kissing his son's forehead on the bruising mark. Seto winced softly, looking up to his father hopefully._

_"__**Realmente?**__" (Really?) He asked._

_"__**Si, realmente.**__" (Yes, really.) Tony chuckled. The door opened and Vanadium popped her head in._

_"Hey, Seto, is everything alright?" She asked. She turned to Tony. "__**Is he alright?**__" She asked in English._

_"Yeah, Mrs. Tungsten. I'm okay." Seto answered, rubbing his cheek a bit (he wasn't about to wonder what they just said. He was taking English classes in school but he didn't get that far yet). His face was sore. Tony turned to her and smiled._

_"__**You heard him. Though he should get cleaned up.**__" Tony said. "__**I'll take him home.**__"  
"__**Oh no, it's okay. I'll do it.**__" She smiled.  
"__**You're a saint, Vana.**__" He grinned. The woman giggled and opened the door wholly for the boy._

_"Come on, Seto, let's get you cleaned up." She said softly. _

_"Okay."_

_The boy pushed himself off the couch and landed on his feet, limping a bit towards the woman. (Hikaru bit his leg! What, was he rabid?!)_

_"Seto." Tony said softly, watching his son. __"__**Non desidero suonare come sto consigliando a questo ma...come avete**_

_**fatto?**__" (I don't want to sound like I'm encouraging this but...how did you do?) Seto looked back to his father, a smirk on his face and an eyebrow raised._

_"__**Che cosa pensate?**__" (What do you think?) He snickered before he was pulled along into the bathroom. As the door shut, Tony grinned. The tall lean Italian rocker walked out of the backroom_ _and back into the store._  
_"__**What happened?**__" Mangan asked._

_"__**Seto got called out for being younger than everyone else. Hikaru Inoue. Little punk wanted him to do his homework. My boy fought back.**__" He explained, still with that wide beam on his face._

_"__**How'd he do?**__" Helen asked as her ex-husbands best friend walked back over to his spot to grab the box of CD packs to be unloaded. Tony grinned wider, picking up the box of CD's, examining the next pack and moving to the Country Western section.  
"__**Kicked that little twerps ASS, that's how my boy did.**__" He said smugly._

_"__**Just like his old man, huh?**__" Manganese laughed, slapping Tony's shoulder playfully as he passed.  
"__**Hopefully**__**not JUST like his old man.**__" Mitch chuckled. Tony rolled his eyes._

_His boy would be just fine._

_--_

_"So, Seto..." Vana started, dabbing the boy with a cotton ball. "How DID you do REALLY?" Seto looked at her with a grimace, seeming embarrassed._

_"Little twerp kicked my ASS, that's how I did." He clapped his hands together. "Please don't tell my dad!" He begged. Vana sighed.  
"You're just like your old man..."_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

_January 1__st__, 2009_

_10:30 A.M. (Rome)_

"Seto, come ON!" Mokuba grunted, pulling his brother by the arm.  
"Hold on! We have to wait for Jou!" He insisted, staying put.

"What takes a guy so long anyway?"

"A twelve and a half hour plane ride'll tire anybody out." Seto said. "And it's six-thirty." The CEO added as he looked at his watch. He blinked, looking out the window at the shining sun and back at his watch. That couldn't be right.

"Not here." Mokuba said. Seto blinked again and groaned.

"I forgot to change my watch."

"You do every time." Mokuba grinned, who'd checked his cell phone in his back pocket. "It's TEN-thirty." He informed his brother who quickly changed his watch to the right time. Or what was CLOSE enough to the right time. The hour was right and the minutes were _close_ to dead-on.

Jou then left the bathroom, throwing out the paper towel used to wash his hands.

"Sorry."  
"It's alright." Seto said, changing his iPod clock to Rome time.

"Why are we in a public airport anyway? I'd pinned you two for pulling up somewhere that only you rich shmucks go." Jou asked. Usually that was the Kaiba brothers' style- sleek, personalized and private.  
"We 'rich shmucks' need to work with the security here." The brunet smirked a bit. "Passports and such. Not to mention, exchange currency." Seto blinked at that. "How much do you have?" Jou picked his wallet from his pocket and shifted through the bills and coins, adding in his head.

"About... 5,374 yen." He said.

(Okay, people, I did the math here. Thank GOD for online converters. Okay, so I gave Jou about 50 US bucks here. That's the equivalent to 5,374.01 yen. Which, in exchange is the equivalent to 33.7280 euro. 1 yen is about 0.00627613 euro and 1 euro is approximately 198.925 yen. 1 dollar is the same as 107.268 yen and 0.674153 euro. Pants. That's all I'm saying. And you can bet your sweet ass that that online currency converter is on my favorites. Okay, I'm done. Ta!)

"It'll do...we'll have plenty left if you run out." Seto said as he picked up his carry-on bag and slung it over his shoulder. Jou ran a hand through his mussed-from-sleep-on-a-plane hair and rubbed his jetlagged eye.

He hoped it would be a good week.

--

Jou pocketed the euro into his back pocket, safely tucked into his wallet.

"So, the house is in Rome?" Jou asked as Mokuba searched for his suitcase.

"Nope. Tuscany. We can cruise around for a few hours but we need to drive there. It's out of this region so it'll take a few hours to get there." Seto watched his brother run over, suitcase in hand. He smiled down at the boy.  
"_Nonna_ wants us at the _villa_ for dinner." Mokuba said. "Speaking of _Nonna_, you have to call her."  
"I know, I know." Seto said, pulling out his cell phone. "_Una_ _secondo_." He said, holding up a finger to Jou and Mokuba as he dialed his grandmothers' number into his phone, walking off to chat.

"By the way, Jou..." Mokuba started. "I suggest keeping the Japanese to a minimum here."  
"They don't take well to foreigners?"  
"Well, they DO...but at the same time, it makes you an easy target, y'know?" Mokuba explained. Jou nodded. Hey, he knew the scene. He was in a gang before.

"I got it."

"I hope so." Said the younger of the Kaiba duo watching his brother talk rapid Italian to his grandmother. "Is he almost done?" he muttered to himself before yelling. "SETO! _DESIDERO COMUNICARE CON NONNA!_" (SETO! I WANT TO TALK TO GRANDMOTHER!) Seto rolled his eyes, walking back over still jabbering away as Mokuba gave a happy squeal.

"Hey." Seto interjected as his little brother snatched the cell phone. However he went unheard as the little Kaiba talked to his _Nonna_ happily.

"So how long should it take to get to Tuscany?"  
"Tuscany-just a few hours. The _villa_-add another half an hour to those few." Seto answered. As Mokuba hung up a few minutes later, he looked to his brother who nodded. "Come on." He fought down a smile, taking Jou's hand and dragging him out of the airport with Mokuba right behind him. As they pushed open the doors, Jou hid his eyes from the sudden light and looked around.

"_Benvenuto in Italia._" Seto said with a small smile. "Welcome to Italy."

--

Chapter THREE! Hey, I'm getting the hang of that online translator, huh?


End file.
